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Before & After AI: They brought in 7 virtual guides & everything changed

  • Writer: Annelize Booysen
    Annelize Booysen
  • Apr 9
  • 2 min read


THE CHALLENGE


A leading postgraduate business program set out to do something different.


They wanted to teach students the fundamentals of design thinking, business model generation and successful pitching—but with an experience that felt real and engaging.


Traditional formats weren’t going to cut it. The program also had a corporate sponsor involved, keen to see the calibre of students and find potential opportunities for recruitment.


The team knew they needed more than just clever content. They needed an experience that would spark curiosity and challenge thinking.




THE SHIFT



Instead of relying on old models, they introduced something new: a Multi-Persona Teaching GPT.


Seven AI personas were developed to create a simulated teaching environment. Imagine having a student sitting in the middle of the room, surrounded by a team of personal tutors who teach through conversation. The tutors ask questions, encourage, validate, correct and challenge, guiding the student to discover deeper insights through dialogue.


The personas included

  • a facilitator to keep the flow between the student and the different virtual guides;

  • three subject-matter experts to teach core concepts; and

  • three validators to test, ask deeper questions and stretch the thinking.


This wasn’t a chatbot. It was a team, a huddle of intelligent guides, responding in real time to the questions of the student and handing over to each other seamlessly. From the first "hello" to the final pitch, students were never left wondering what to do next.



 THE OUTCOME


The change was immediate.


  • Students were fully immersed, not distracted. They wanted to know more and see the process through. Their ideas sharpened. Their understanding deepened. Their confidence grew.


  • They walked away not just having learned a methodology, but absorbing it because they'd applied it.


  • The sponsor saw the depth of creativity, the clarity of thinking, and the polish of each pitch—and came away with new appreciation for the potential of this talent pool.


  • The program itself gained new energy. Word-of-mouth travelled fast, and with it, a reputation for delivering not just education, but an experience.


  • More than that, students felt seen and heard. The combination of structure and support created a learning environment unlike anything they’d encountered before.



WHY IT WORKED


Three things made the difference:

  1. thinking differently about what’s possible in a teaching format;

  2. personalizing the experience through AI-driven simulation; and

  3. planning carefully so every interaction had intention and flow.


This is a formula not just for graduate education. It can just as easily be applied to digital advisory boards, innovation labs, and corporate learning.



A FINAL THOUGHT


When you surround someone with a suite of guides who are all there to help them think, refine, and evolve—something shifts.


What would happen if you had that kind of support around you?


Let’s explore it.



 
 
 

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